E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Solidago canadensis L.
Canada Goldenrod
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Brian Klinkenberg  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #29562)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Solidago canadensis
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Red Flag  Map note: This map does not reflect current knowledge for this taxon. Details here.

Introduction

Solidago canadensis is a perennial, rhizomatous (clonal) species, lacking basal leaves or with basal leaves reduced and early deciduous. It is native to eastern North America, but is cultivated and introduced in western North America. This species was introduced to Europe in the 17th century, and is now invasive (Van Kleunan and Schmid 2003). It is now a significant invasive species in China.

In 2010, this species was reassessed in the province by the BC Conservation Data Centre, and most BC specimens were annotated to other species. Only a handful of specimens were determined to be Solidago canadensis.. "A specimen from a ditch in Revelstoke has been annotated as S. canadensis var. hargeri by John Semple in 2009." (Lomer, pers. comm. 2012).

Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from a fibrous-rooted, creeping rhizome; stems erect, solitary, branched above, densely short-hairy above, 0.3-2 m tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking or, like the lower stem leaves, reduced and soon deciduous; stem leaves lance-linear to narrowly lance-elliptic, tapering to an unstalked base, 5-15 cm long, 5-22 mm wide, alternate, simple, sharply saw-toothed or entire, 3-nerved, glabrous to densely short-hairy or rough-hairy.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, numerous in a dense pyramidal inflorescence from scarcely to much exceeding the upper leaves; involucres 2-5 mm tall; involucral bracts linear-lanceolate, from somewhat to evidently overlapping, glabrous; ray flowers yellow, mostly 10-17, 1-3 mm long; disk flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes short-hairy; pappus of numerous white hairlike bristles.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Moist to mesic meadows, grasslands, shrublands, ditches, fields, roadsides, and forest openings in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; introduced in BC, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to FL, TX and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Additional Notes

Canada goldenrod is a widespread, summer flowering species in BC. It is invasive in Europe, where it was introduced in the 17th century (Van Kleunan and Schmid 2003). Earliest observed flowering date in BC: July 10th, 2009, near Hope (personal observation).

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Solidago canadensis

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 20 805 2043
Slope Gradient (%) 0 11 84
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
20 203 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
0 4 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
278
Modal BEC Zone Class
BWBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BG(11), BWBS(48), CDF(2), CWH(30), ESSF(14), ICH(39), IDF(34), MS(19), PP(8), SBPS(3), SBS(47)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

Species References

Flora North Ameria. 2010. Solidago canadensis treatment. Flora North America. Available Online.

USDA. 2010. Plant profile for Solidago canadensis. United States Department of Agriculture. Available Online.

Van Kleunen, Mark and Bernhard Schmid. 2003. No Evidence for an Evolutionary Increased Competitive Ability in an Invasive Plant. Ecology 84 (11):

General References